Radicalism

Radicalism was a liberal political ideology that existed in Europe during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The term originated with British Whig MP Charles James Fox, who demanded a "radical reform" of the electoral system of Great Britain. The upper and middle classes, particularly the bourgeoisie, were the initial leaders of the radical movement, but artisans and the laboring classes were brought to widespread agitation as well. Popular agitation notably occurred in France, where the people overthrew the Kingdom of France, established the French First Republic, passed a series of liberal reforms, and wiped away the remnants of the old regime through a "Reign of Terror". Radicals in Britain supported democratic reform and the rejection of the monarchy, aristocracy, and all forms of privilege, and Fox led the Whig Party in opposition to Edmund Burke's reactionary Tory Party. The Chartists, a radical group, advocated universal suffrage, equal-size electoral districts, secret ballots, an end to property qualification for Parliament, pay for Members of Parliament, and annual elections. The Jacobin Club was another radical movement, supporting radical reforms in France. Historical radicalism would later be absorbed into liberalism during the Age of Liberalism.